Police say alcohol suspected in crash that killed three near Tompkins

Three people, including two women in the same family, were killed on Monday night after police say a vehicle drove the wrong direction on the Trans-Canada Highway.

Police received a call that the vehicle was travelling at a high rate of speed in the wrong direction around 8:10 p.m. While officers were travelling to that call, they received a report of a head-on collision about five kilometres east of Tompkins.

The RCMP says two vehicles had collided head on and stopped in the driving lanes of the highway. The 66-year-old man driving the vehicle in the wrong lane was pronounced dead at the scene.

There were three people, including a baby, in the other vehicle. The 27-year-old woman driving the vehicle and a 62-year-old woman in the passenger seat were both pronounced dead at the scene. Police say a witness helped pull a baby boy from the back seat. He was taken to hospital in Swift Current and the RCMP says his injuries aren’t life-threatening.

Police say the two women and the baby are from the same family.

Police say alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash. A toxicology report is pending.

The highway was closed for several hours on Monday night. The investigation is ongoing.